This selection of works from the Broad and LACMA collections draws on th
e strengths of both to reflect directions in contemporary art that emerged
in the 1980s. The seeds of what would come to be known as the Pictures Gene
ration began here in Los Angeles at CalArts where conceptual artist John Ba
ldessari helped shape the careers of many artists\, such as Troy Brauntuch\
, Matt Mullican\, Jack Goldstein and David Salle. Curators\, writers\, and
critics of the era grappled with an emerging sense that pictures rather tha
n paintings were of importance in our postmodern world\, subjecting the tra
ditions of painting and image-making to scrutiny in response to an emerging
media landscape and other seismic cultural shifts.

\n

The exhibition devo
tes a single room to the work of Meyer Vaisman. Another room focuses on She
rrie Levine\, whose work with appropriation impacted many artists since. Th
e concept of the ready-made\, at the heart of Levine’s practice\, is also e
xplored elsewhere in works by Hans Haacke\, Haim Steinbach and Allan McColl
um. Robert Longo\, represented here by two monumental works\, was the vide
o curator at The Kitchen\, a seminal space for new art and music in New Yor
k\, from 1977 to 1981. Laurie Anderson and Bill T. Jones are represented by
videos documenting their performances at The Kitchen.

\n

Standout pieces b
y Jenny Holzer\, Barbara Kruger and Adrian Piper all use text and language
as a poetic and political device. Pieces by Leon Golub\, Sarah Charlesworth
\, Louise Lawler\, Robert Gober\, David Hammons\, Cady Noland and Lorraine
O’Grady are also included.